The Federal Government will on Wednesday, July 1, officially launch the Digital National Education Management Information System (DEMIS), a national digital platform designed to track every school, learner, teacher and education investment across Nigeria, in a move aimed at strengthening planning, transparency and accountability in the education sector.
The platform, alongside the Public DEMIS Portal and the inauguration of DEMIS State Implementation Teams, marks a major milestone in the implementation of the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure (NEDI), a flagship reform under the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI) championed by the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa.
Addressing journalists during a pre-launch media briefing in Abuja, the National Project Coordinator of the Special Programmes Operations and Implementation Unit in the Office of the Minister of Education, Mr. Adebayo Onigbanjo, said the initiative was developed to address decades of fragmented and unreliable education data that have hindered effective planning and policy implementation.
“For many years, Nigeria’s education sector has been constrained by weak, fragmented and inconsistent data. This has affected planning, policymaking, monitoring and governance. DEMIS was conceived to change that reality by providing a single, reliable and integrated source of education data for the country,” Onigbanjo said.
He explained that the Federal Ministry of Education developed NEDI as a comprehensive framework to harmonise and standardise education data management across all levels of education, with DEMIS serving as its flagship digital platform.
“DEMIS will provide timely, reliable and accessible data to support planning, budgeting, policymaking, monitoring and improved service delivery. Every learner, every teacher, every school and every public investment in education will now be captured within one unified national database,” he said.
Onigbanjo said the initiative reflects the Federal Government’s determination to ensure that education reforms are driven by evidence rather than assumptions.
“The progress we have made through NEDI and DEMIS demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that education reforms are properly coordinated, effectively implemented and accurately measured. Data is no longer a back-office function; it is now the engine driving education reform in Nigeria,” he added.
Also speaking, the Special Assistant to the Minister of Education on Digital Communications and E-Learning, Miss Mojoyin Adebajo, said DEMIS was built on the globally recognised District Health Information Software 2 (DHIS2) platform to modernise education administration and strengthen evidence-based decision-making.
She explained that the platform would digitise the Annual School Census, replacing largely manual data collection processes with an integrated digital system capable of generating accurate, real-time information on schools, learners, teachers and education infrastructure.
“With DEMIS, we are moving away from paper-based data collection to a modern digital platform that delivers accurate, real-time information. This will significantly improve resource allocation, programme monitoring, planning and service delivery across Nigeria’s education sector,” Adebajo said.
She described the Public DEMIS Portal as one of the initiative’s most significant innovations, noting that it would, for the first time, make selected official education data publicly accessible.
“The Public DEMIS Portal will provide researchers, policymakers, journalists, development partners, civil society organisations and the general public with access to verified education data. This will strengthen transparency, improve public access to information and encourage wider stakeholder participation in education reform,” she said.
The Ministry acknowledged the technical support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the University of Oslo, describing the collaboration as critical to accelerating sustainable education reforms.
According to the Ministry, DEMIS is expected to bridge longstanding gaps in education data management by providing a single, integrated and trusted national database that supports real-time decision-making, strengthens coordination between federal and state education institutions, and advances the Renewed Hope Agenda for quality education.
The Federal Ministry of Education reaffirmed its commitment to working closely with state governments, development partners and other stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of DEMIS and build a more transparent, technology-driven and globally competitive education system that delivers quality learning opportunities for every Nigerian child.